Four Lagos drug lords jailed 28 years, forfeit VGC houses

Four drug kingpins involved in the historic seizure of 2,139.55 kilograms of cocaine at an Ikorodu residential estate in 2022 have been sentenced by a Federal High Court in Lagos.

The convicts —Soji Jubril Oke, 71; Wasiu Akinade, 55; Emmanuel Arinze Chukwu, 67; and Kelvin Christopher Smith, 44, a Jamaican— were arrested by the Nigeria Drug Law Enforcement Agency operatives in various locations across Lagos between Sunday night, September 18, and Monday morning, September 19, 2022.

The arrests followed a raid at No 6 Olukuola Crescent, Solebo Estate, Ikorodu, Lagos, where over 2.1 tons of cocaine were seized. This recovery remains the largest single cocaine seizure in Nigeria’s history.

The convicts were charged with six counts under charge number FHC/L/607C/2022 in October and December 2022.

The trial of a fifth suspect, Oguntolure Sunday, who was arraigned alongside them, is still ongoing.

In a statement on Thursday, the NDLEA spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, disclosed that Justice Yellim Bogoro sentenced the convicts to a combined 28 years of imprisonment with hard labour